The main ideas Gall et al. are communicating in chapter 1 is that evidence-based practice is a key to progress in all the fields of knowledge and practice, especially in human-centered disciplines such as psychology, medicine, and education. The authors fairly note that while evidence and research have been widely used in natural sciences and technology, the field education just seems to be missing from the overall picture of human progress. The problem is not in that there is no research in this field but that the results of the research do not find application in real life. This is why it is important for the education researchers to communicate the results they achieve and methodology in the way that the educators could understand them and use in their practice. Education research is very important because it provides the solutions to practical problems and enables the development of more effective educational programs and approaches.
Gall, Gall and Borg (9) define educational research as “the systematic collection and analysis of empirical data in order to develop valid , generalizable knowledge in the form of (1) descriptions of educational phenomena, (2) predictions about future events of performance, (3) evidence about the effects of experimental interventions, and (4) explanations of the basic processes that underlie observed phenomena.” In my opinion, all the types of research, be it descriptive, experimental, explanatory, prediction, basic, or applied all orbit around the concept central to all research, its core. This core consists in asking the right questions in a proper way and getting the right answers in a proper way. Right questions mean the relevant, verifiable topics of inquiry, proper ways mean the unbiased research design the results of which will be valid for the broad category of population. The right answers stand for correct interpretable results that are well-presented and understandable; the proper way means pertaining to all ethical standards.
References
Gall, Meredith D., Joyce P. Gall, and Walter R. Borg. Applying Educational Research. 7th ed. Pearson. Web.
